The Los Angeles Times praised the show's best performances for "channel[ing] a spirit that filled the room, one that transcended genres." The Baltimore Sun called the telecast "mystic" and "profound." The Orlando Sentinel praised its "simplicity and sincerity."

The Grammys overall got high points for balancing the two main storylines: the farewell to Houston, and the arrival of Adele. The telecast led off with a prayer for Houston from host LL Cool J, and ended with Adele's capper of an Album of a Year triumph.

Though the Hudson song and Adele's performance, the performer's first since vocal-cord surgery, were the most-anticipated moments of the night, Katy Perry's and Taylor Swift 's numbers were watched by the most live viewers, with some 43 million people checking out the show's 9:30 p.m. half-hour.

Overall, the three-and-a-half-hour telecast averaged 39 million, the most since Michael Jackson-"Thriller" mania in 1984, a year before Houston's own record debut.